Amsterdam

I was just thankful that we visited Amsterdam last because if we had come here first we may never have left. The caravan park had as one of its rules maximum stay three week so this is obviously a problem for many people. I played the game “Spot who’s been in Amsterdam too long”, eg badly washed dazed young lads in dirty clothes, aging old hippies with grey ponytails begging also dazed etc. Not a hard game.

Canal scene with house boats

A houseboat

Life on a houseboat in one of the canals looks very tempting. We did the usual Amsterdam things: quick cruise on the canal, Van Gogh Museum, look at the replica 1700 trading boat the Amsterdam, history of the Dutch East India Trading Company, Museum of the Dutch Resistance, and the bad things: sex and drug tour, red light district, sex shops, hydroponics shops, drug paraphernalia shops and coffee shops. We had a ball - far too busy to keep blog going.

The replica of the Amsterdam

The Bulldog supposedly the first Coffee Shop in Amsterdam founded in 1975

Marijuana Absinthe and other toxic drinks

A shop full of wicked things

The European Cup

The quarter final match of the European Cup (soccer that is) where Holland played Russia was on when we were there. The whole town was dressed up in orange gear and the partying started early in the morning. The Dutch are even more sport fanatical than the Australians. Every shop was decked in orange balloons and streamers, even the cake shops made cakes with orange icing and this was only the quarter final. The match was on at 9pm. By then the town was really rocking. We headed for an Irish pub which had numerous TV screens and watched the Russians beat the Dutch- a bit sad really. The Russians have Guus the coach that did so well for Australia in the last World Cup. He is Dutch which made the Dutch defeat even more painful.

Dutch supporters

A streetscape with orange

Yes I watched a whole match and no I haven’t become a soccer fan, but I have kindly endured quite a few matches as we churn through the European Cup. We have watched Germany playing while in Germany, Italy playing while in Italy and would have seen Croatia playing in Croatia if we had made it there. Luckily for me the English team were knocked out and were not in the European Cup otherwise a huge part of our trip would have been spent in Austria, Switzerland who are the hosts. Imagine crowded squares with huge screens as we wouldn’t have been able to get tickets. Someone was on my side. Anyway for those of you vaguely interested the final 4 teams are Germany, Spain, Turkey and Russia, a nice mix - enough of soccer.

More supporters

We also went to Marken an old fishing village about 30 min north of Amsterdam which has only just been opened up with a road. It is a very pious Lutheran society with some people still wearing traditional costume - very different to Amsterdam.

One of the charms of Amsterdam is that there are very few cars and the public transport is so efficient. This is a bicycle parking station. People catch the train in and then go to work by bike.

An ad in Amsterdam sums it all up.

I have been chasing these grey herons all around Europe but didn't expect to see them in the middle of Amsterdam. These 2 are at the fish markets.

We’ve had a saying for each country,

France

It’s nice, or it’s not nice, eg It’s not nice from a French point of view the way the English dress, eat, drink or do anything.

Switzerland,

It’s correct, really needs no explanation.

Italy,

It’s fun or it’s not fun, eg it’s not fun staying a decent distance behind the car in front.

Germany,

It works, everything from road system to the toilets

Amsterdam

It’s “ bad”, or it’s not bad, eg the Moroccan blonde hash is not bad.

Holland

It’s flat, in more ways than one, Holland is very different to Amsterdam being quiet conservative and pious.